PRESIDENT Demetris Christofias announced yesterday there would be a National Council meeting next Monday to discuss developments in the Cyprus problem, including the latest letter sent by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the two communities.
Ban’s letter, sent to Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, has been widely criticised with some members of the opposition calling for a cancellation of the two leaders’ planned meeting with Ban at the Greentree estate in New York on January 22.
In unusually blunt letters, Ban laid out the differences between the two communities that are still blocking efforts to reunify the country.
“The negotiation … currently finds itself at an impasse on several issues,” Ban wrote in both letters, seen by Reuters yesterday.
“I am concerned that opportunities to successfully conclude negotiations will be limited once the Republic of Cyprus takes up the presidency of the European Union on 1 July 2012,” he added in the letters, dated January 4.
But speaking after his meeting with Eroglu yesterday morning, Christofias said he was saddened that everyone rushed to criticise his government, based on an interpretation of the letter by Turkish Cypriot news agency Anadolu which was circulated yesterday.
“The Turkish and Turkish Cypriot sides normally interpret everything based on their own goals and views,” said Christofias. “This is reasonable. Now, if we too will interpret everything based on the interpretations offered by the Turks, then we deserve whatever we get.”
He admitted that Ban referred to the talks reaching the final stages and July being a landmark date, but he added this should not be interpreted as a timeframe for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
The president also said the SG underlined the need for convergences on domestic matters, before he meets with the two leaders on January 22.
“(Ban) is effectively noting that we have reached a dead end in these matters and he is calling on both leaders to work intensively in the time that is left, in order to break this dead end. That is the whole essence,” said Christofias. “From there on, I am hearing things being repeated, as if it is a video or a tape, before everyone meeting with the Secretary General.”
He said in any negotiation, there were dangers. “We are here to spot these possible dangers and deal with them.”
The president said it would be wrong to turn down an invitation by the UNSG, though he promised the Greek Cypriot side would not deviate from its initial principles of “one state, with one sovereignty, one nationality and one international personality”.
DISY spokesman Haris Georgiades said his party had repeatedly warned that there was a chance the UN would attempt to impose asphyxiating deadlines for the end of the negotiations between the two sides. He said the wrong tactics were being followed and criticised Christofias for “keeping the political powers in the dark”.
DIKO leader Marios Garoyian said that even though the Turkish Cypriot side continued to express views that contradict the pre-agreed framework under which the talks should be carried out, the UN were pretending to not notice and tolerate the provocative views of Turkey.
He said he was in favour of cancelling the New York meeting, saying it would drag the Greek Cypriot side into a dangerous procedure.
“Is there any doubt that the United Nations want to end this procedure as swiftly as possible?” said Garoyian.
EDEK leader and House President Yiannakis Omirou said the UNSG’s reference to a “landmark date” really means a strict timeframe.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou yesterday blamed the UN for the delay in the Greek Cypriot side receiving Ban’s letter.
“We should have received the letter at the same time as Mr Eroglu,” said Stefanou. “Unfortunately the problem is with the UN and not us. The various politicians, once again, trust the Turkish media, based on information, they rush excitedly to exercise criticism and they don’t even know the contents of the letter. What is in the letter is not what the Turkish media are projecting, but we will discuss all this in the National Council, which is how such matters should be discussed.”
A spokesman for the UN yesterday told the Cyprus Mail: “Both letters were sent at the same time,” adding that if one side received before the other, this would be down to factors unrelated to the UN.
